TABLE 26.-Distribution of stations by total amounts received for political

TABLE 27.-Distribution of stations by total amount of time of sustaining

TABLE 28.-Stations reporting broadcast of editorials for or against political

candidates

31

Senator PASTORE. The bills which are the subject of the hearings today are:

S. 251, which would suspend for the 1964 campaign the equal opportunity provision of section 315 of the Communications Act as this provision applies to the nominees for the offices of President and Vice President.

S. 252, that would exempt the offices of U.S. Senator, U.S. Representative, and the Governor of any State as well as the offices of tht President and Vice President from section 315 of the Communications Act.

S. 1696 would repeal section 315, thereby exempting all political candidates from the equal time provision; and

House Joint Resolution 247, which would suspend for the 1964 campaign the equal opportunity requirements of section 315 of the Communications Act for nominees for the offices of President and Vice President.

(The bills and the report on H.J. Res. 247 follow :)

[H.J. Res. 247, 88th Cong., 1st sess.]

JOINT RESOLUTION To suspend for the 1964 campaign the equal opportunity requirements of section 315 of the Communications Act of 1934 for legally qualified candidates for the offices of President and Vice President

Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That that part of section 315(a) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, which requires any licensee of a broadcast station who permits any person who is a legally qualified candidate for any public office to use a broadcasting station to afford equal opportunities to all other such candidates for that office in the use of such broadcasting station, is suspended for the seventy-five-day period immediately preceding November 3, 1964, with respect to legally qualified candidates for the offices of President and Vice President of the United States. Nothing in the foregoing shall be construed as relieving broadcasters from the obligation imposed upon them under that Act to operate in the public interest.

SEC. 2. The Federal Communications Commission shall require broadcast stations and networks to make such reports as may be necessary to enable the Commission to make a detailed report to the Congress not later than May 1, 1965, on: (1) The effect of the suspension of the equal opportunities requirement of section 315 on the 1964 presidential and vice presidential campaigns, including information concerning requests for time, amount of time made available (including amount of free time, time paid for by candidates or political organizations, and time paid for by others), total charges, rates, editorializing, distribution of time during various phases of the campaigns, and clearance by individual stations of network program concerning the candidates or the issues, and (2) the role of broadcast stations and networks in other political campaigns during 1964.

Passed the House of Representatives June 19, 1963.
Attest:

RALPH R. ROBERTS, Clerk.

[S. 251, 88th Cong., 1st sess.]

A BILL To suspend for the 1964 campaign the equal opportunity requirements of section 315 of the Communications Act of 1934 for nominees for the offices of President and Vice President

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That that part of section 315(a) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, which requires any licensee of a broadcast station who permits any person who is a legally qualified candidate for any public office to use a broadcasting station to afford equal opportunities to all other such candidates for that office in the use of such broadcasting station, is suspended for the period of the 1964 presidential and vice presidential campaigns with respect to nominees for the offices of President and Vice President of the United States. Nothing in the foregoing shall be construed as relieving broadcasters from the obligation imposed upon them under that Act to operate in the public interest.

SEC. 2. The Federal Communications Commission shall require broadcast stations and networks to make such reports as may be necessary to enable the Commission to make a detailed report to the Congress not later than May 1, 1965, on: (1) the effect of the suspension of the equal opportunities requirement of section 315 on the 1964 presidential and vice presidential campaigns, including information concerning requests for time, amount of time made available (including amounts of free time, time paid for by candidates or political organizations, and time paid for by others), total charges, rates, editorializing, distribution of time during various phases of the campaigns, and clearance by individual stations of network programs concerning the candidates or the issues, and (2) the role of broadcast stations and networks in other political campaigns during 1964.

[S. 252, 88th Cong., 1st sess.]

A BILL To provide that section 315 of the Communications Act of 1934 shall not apply to candidates for the offices of President and Vice President of the United States, United States Senator and Representative, and Governor of any State

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That section 315 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 315) is amended

(1) by inserting, in the first sentence of subsection (a), after “any public office" a comma and "except as provided in subsection (c) of this section,"; and

(2) by redesignating subsection (c) as subsection (d) and adding a new subsection (c) to read as follows:

"(c) The provisions of this section shall not apply to any candidate for the office of President or Vice President of the United States, or United States Senator or Representative, or Governor of any State."

[S. 1696, 88th Cong., 1st sess.]

A BILL To amend section 315 of the Communications Act of 1934 so as to eliminate the statutory requirement of affording equal time for use of broadcasting stations by candidates for public office

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That section 315 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended (47 U.S.C. sec. 315), is amended to read as follows:

"CHARGES FOR USE OF BROADCASTING FACILITIES BY CANDIDATES FOR PUBLIC OFFICE

"SEC. 315. (a) The charges made for the use of any broadcasting station by any person who is a legally qualified candidate for public office shall not exceed the charges made for comparable use of such station for other purposes.

"(b) The Commission shall prescribe appropriate rules and regulations to carry out the provisions of subsection (a).”

SEC. 2. The amendment to section 315 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, made by the first section of this Act shall not be construed as relieving any licensee from the obligation imposed upon him under the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, to operate in the public interest and to afford reasonable opportunity for the discussion of conflicting views on issues of public importance.

[H. Rept. 359, 88th Cong., 1st sess.]

SUSPENSION OF EQUAL TIME PROVISIONS OF THE COMMUNICATIONS ACT FOR 1964 PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN

The Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce, to whom was referred the joint resolution (H.J. Res. 247) to suspend for the 1964 campaign the equal opportunity requirements of section 315 of the Communications Act of 1934 for nominees for the offices of President and Vice President, having considered the same, report favorably thereon with amendments and recommend that the joint resolution as amended do pass.

The amendments are as follows:

Page 2, beginning in line 1, strike out "period of the 1964 presidential and vice presidential campaigns" and insert in lieu thereof "75 day period immediately preceding November 3, 1964,".

Page 2, line 2, strike out "nominees" and insert in lieu thereof "legally qualified candidates".

Amend the title so as to read:

"Joint resolution to suspend for the 1964 campaign the equal opportunity requirements of section 315 of the Communications Act of 1934 for legally qualified candidates for the offices of President and Vice President."

TABLE 18.-Number of political broadcasts by time of day broadcast

NOTE.-Excludes data for 19 stations because of inconsistencies in their reports.